Most Recent Things to Do in Leeuwarden

Historisch Centrum Leeuwarden - The Story of LWD

Inside the Historical Centre Leeuwarden you can view a permanent exhibition about the story of Leeuwarden. With the help of historical objects and 3d animations you learn about the story of Leeuwarden. On the other side of the room there is another exhibition room that changes regularly. Entrance is for free.

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Museum Visits

Historical Travel

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Fries Museum

When you enter the Fries Museum, you encounter an intriguing world. Highlights of Frisian culture and modern and contemporary Dutch art give the Museum its versatile and distinctive character. You will be constantly amazed. Fresh, provocative works of art and antique objects covered with the patina of age are juxtaposed at the Museum.Inside the museum you can find such things as 17th-century Frisian silver, stately portraits from the 16th and 17th centuries, fashionable Frisian costumes, 18th-century period rooms in the Eysingahuis, and the mystery of Mata Hari. Situated on the Turfmarkt, the buildings on both side of the street are part of the museum, they are conncted via a tunnel. The museum is opened from Tuesday-Sunday between 11:00 and 17:00.

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Fries Natuurmuseum

The Frisian Museum of Natural History was founded in 1923. Like many nature museums, this one came about as the result of a private initiative. A number of Leeuwarden nature lovers put their heads together and decided that it was high time that Leeuwarden had a nature museum. The most important initiator was Gerrit Bosch (known popularly as Fûgeltsje Bosch). In the first years of its existence the museum changed its location several times. After the Second World War, the museum moved into the building in the Heerestraat and remained there until 1987. At that time, the museum had completely outgrown its accomodation and a new location needed to be found. This turned out to be the Nieuwestads Weeshuis at Schoenmakersperk. This historical building in the middle of the old city provided an enormous increase in museum floor space. The Nieuwestads Weeshuis served as an orphanage from 1675 to 1958. At its busiest time, hundreds of orphans lived in the house.

There are three areas in the museum:The Frisian landscape: The origins of the various Frisian landscapes are explained first. You then walk through the landscapes and see the animals that live there, the plants that grow and the dangers that threaten these particular landscapes. You can even learn how to milk a cow!Friesland under water: A walk along the bed of a Frisian farmer’s ditch.The whale room: The centrepiece of this room is the skeleton of a 15-metre long sperm whale, which was washed up on a sandbank between Ameland and Terschelling in 1994. The exhibition includes a lot of practical elements for children, such as a crawl space in the shape of a diving bell, a cuddly toy drawer, a whale puzzle, videos and various games.

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Stadhouderlijk hof

The first stadtholder's court in 1587 consisted of a single house only, but in 1603 a second house was added to the palace. Originally a complex in Renaissance style, the successing stadtholders each had it changed to fit their taste. In 1747 the last stadtholder of Friesland became stadtholder of all the Netherlands and moved to Den Haag, after which his court in Leeuwarden lost in importance. Several different uses resulted in the decay of the palace, and after king Willem I bought it in 1814 architect Stoett renovated it in neo-Classical style. Nowadays it is a luxurious hotel.

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Statue of Willem Lodewijk van Nassau-Dillenburg

William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg (13 March 1560, Dillenburg, Hesse – 13 July 1620, Leeuwarden, Netherlands) was Count of Nassau-Dillenburg from 1606 to 1620, and stadtholder of Friesland, Groningen, and Drenthe. He was the eldest son of John VI, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg.

William Louis served as a cavalry officer under William the Silent. Together with his cousin (and brother-in-law) Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange, he helped plan the military strategy of The Netherlands against Spain from 1588 to 1609.

On 25 November 1587, he married his cousin, Anna of Nassau, daughter of William the Silent and Anna of Saxony, and older sister of Maurice of Nassau. Anna died less than six months later on 13 June 1588, and William Louis never remarried.

He was nicknamed "Us Heit" (West Frisian for "our father"). He died in Leeuwarden, the city which honored him with a statue on the Government square. His body was laid to rest in the Jacobijnerkerk.

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Statue of Anne Vondeling

Anne Vondeling (2 March 1916, Appelscha - 22 November 1979, Mechelen) was a member and former chairman of the Dutch Labour Party. He was minister in fourth Drees cabinet and vice prime minister in the Cals cabinet. Later (1972-1979) he became President of Dutch House of Representatives, in which capacity he put much emphasis on the usage of correct and clear words by the MPs. He later became member of the European Parliament. The Anne Vondeling prize is given annually to journalists who write in a clear manner concerning political subjects.

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Jacobijnerkekr

The Jacobijnerkerk, also known as Grote Kerk ('great church') was built in the 13th century as the church of the Dominican monastery. In the 15th century the church was extended. After the Reformation the monastery was closed and the church became a protestant one. The choir became a mausoleum for the Frisian branch of the (Oranje-)Nassau family.

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St. Bonifatius

The neo-Gothic St. Bonifatius was built in 1882-1884. Although catholics in Leeuwarden formed a minority, their number was large enough to justify the construction of a second church, the first being the St. Dominicus. P.J.H. Cuypers designed the new church, which is considered to be one of his best.

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Statue of Pieter Jelles Troelstra

Pieter Jelles Troelstra (Leeuwarden, 20 April 1860 – The Hague, 12 May 1930) was a Dutch politician active in the socialist workers' movement. He is most remembered for his fight for universal suffrage and his failed call for revolution at the end of World War I. Troelstra was married from 1888 until 1904 to Sjoukje Bokma de Boer, who was a well-known children's book writer under the pen name of Nynke van Hichtum.

Peter Jelles Troelstra died on May 12, 1930 in The Hague. To this day the The Hague section of the PvdA, the successor of the SDAP, celebrates labour day at a monument to Troelstra.

De Oldehove

De Oldehove is an unfinished church tower in the medieval centre of the Dutch city of Leeuwarden (Stenvert, 2000). It leans even more than the famous tower of Pisa.

Oldehove is also the name of an artificial mound ("terp" in Dutch) on which in the late 9th century a (Catholic) church dedicated to Saint Vitus was built. Construction of the adjoining Late Gothic tower began in 1529, after the citizens of Leeuwarden demanded a tower taller than the one in the city of Groningen, the Martini tower. In charge were Jacob van Aken (or Aaken) and, after his death, Cornelis Frederiksz.

During construction, the tower began to sag, which the builders tried to compensate for by inserting several "kinks", but the project was stopped in 1532 (1533 according to another source). In 1595-'96, the then derelict church was demolished, but the tower remains. It consists mostly of brick, but the builders also used so-called Bentheim sandstone.

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St. Bonifatius church

The St. Bonifatius is a big Roman Catholic church in neo-Gothic style, designed by P.J.H. Cuypers. The peculiar choir was copied from that of the cathedral in Trondheim, Norway. The tall tower dominates the city, which at the time of its construction must have annoyed many intolerant people in this mostly protestant city.

The church is open for visitors on Wednesdays and Saturdays in Summer. Recommended for its well preserved 19th century interior.

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Historical Travel

Architecture

Adventure Travel

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The Waag

The old "Waag" is a building in the centre of the main shopping street of Leeuwarden. This used to be a place where they weighed all the cheese and butter brought in by the farmers. These type of buildings can be found in many old dutch cities.

It is rebuild, after many years of being empty, into a restaurant and cafe. On the right side of this building is the most used ATM of the Netherlands.

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Modern architecture

This tower is part of the newly built towers, which are almost all in hands of insurance companies. It is close to the train station and it is perfect for creative photography. This particular area is called the Manhattan of Leeuwarden, I do differ there however, it is by far not as imposing as the real Manhattan must be (remembering financial district Toronto).More information will follow as soon as possible.

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Leeuwarden dates as far back as the Middle Ages.
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